Underpowered Builds That Are A Lot Of Fun
Diablo 4 offers players the opportunity to embody one of five formidable classes, each with its own unique set of skills and play styles that truly set them apart from one another. While many players have already discovered the most effective builds for each character class, there are still plenty of options for those who want to deviate from the mainstream and explore alternative playstyles.
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Diablo 4 features a robust leveling system that allows for a wide range of builds and mechanics for every class and player. Take, for example, the Druid class, which is typically associated with transforming into powerful creatures. However, there are numerous Druid builds that focus on other skills, providing players with a fresh and enjoyable experience.
One such build is the Elemental Druid, which offers players the chance to deal significant elemental damage while also serving as a tank within their party. This versatile build can be customized in various ways, depending on the player’s preference for magic. Key skills for this build include Storm Strike, Lightning Storm, Tornado, Earthen Bulwark, and Hurricane. While some players may choose to forgo a companion skill, experimentation is key when it comes to non-meta builds.
The Thorns Barbarian build is a high-risk, high-reward playstyle that centers around inflicting damage upon oneself. Players will need to invest time in crafting this build and prioritize rubies and emeralds in their armor slots. Skills such as Flay, Whirlwind, Rallying Cry, Charge, Steel Grasp, and Wrath of the Berserker are crucial for this build. Outburst and Tough as Nails are key passives to consider, and with the right setup, players can enjoy a unique and thrilling gameplay experience.
For players seeking an exceptional leveling build, the Pure Lightning Sorcerer is an excellent choice. This build focuses on harnessing the power of lightning, allowing players to quickly progress through the game. While it may struggle against bosses and tough foes, the Pure Lightning Sorcerer remains a fun and engaging build. Skills such as Spark, Chain Lightning, Teleport, Lightning Spear, Ball Lightning, and Unstable Currents are essential for this build.
The Marksman Rogue offers a refreshing alternative to the popular Twisting Blades build. This build completely forgoes melee weapons, making it a challenging yet enjoyable playstyle. Skills like Forceful Arrow, Barrage, Penetrating Shot, Shadow Imbument, Concealment, and Rain of Arrows are crucial for this build. Players should also consider the passive skill “Victimize” to enhance their capabilities. Mobility is the main challenge for this build, as Rogues lack durability. Lowering cooldowns through items can help mitigate this issue.
While the Necromancer class is typically associated with sacrificing minions, there are still plenty of summon-focused builds to explore. Players can choose from a variety of summon types, each offering unique benefits. Skills such as Bone Splinters/Decompose, Bone Spear/Blight, Blood Mist, Decrepify, Corpse Tendrils, and Army of the Dead are excellent choices for a summoning Necromancer. Passives that directly buff minions or aid in their healing and essence generation should be prioritized.
For players who prefer summoning but want to explore a different class, the Druid can also excel as a summoner. While not as versatile as the Necromancer in terms of active summons, the Companion Druid offers a viable mid-game build. Skills such as Storm Strike, Landslide/Pulverize, Ravens, Poison Creeper, Wolves, and Grizzly Rage are essential for this build. Players can mix and match skills according to their preferences. The passive skill “Call of the Wild” should be maximized, and other passives that benefit the Druid and its summons are worth considering.
Finally, the Rogue Multi-Trap build is ideal for players who enjoy trap-based gameplay. Utilizing skills such as Poison Trap, Death Trap, and the Preparation Ability, players can set up an arsenal of traps and make their enemies vulnerable. This build requires careful planning and execution, but with the right setup, players can dominate the field.
Diablo 4 allows players to play as one of five powerful classes. Each comes with its own set of unique skills and play styles, and all feel distinct from one another. As with any game, players have already discovered the best builds for each character class. But for those who have played with meta builds already or are looking to go off the beaten track, there are plenty of options left for all of Diablo 4’s classes.
Diablo 4 sports a robust leveling system that allows for tons of different builds and mechanics for every class and every player. For example, the Druid is normally based around transforming into ferocious creatures, but there are plenty of Druid builds where the player never transforms. With scenarios like this in mind, there are a number of underpowered non-meta builds that are a ton of fun to experiment with.
7 Elemental Druid
Tired of the cliche of the squishy spell caster? Players looking to deal lots of elemental damage while also being the tank of a party should look no further than the Elemental Druid build. This build is very flexible and can be done in a number of ways depending on what magic the player prefers. One of the more common builds is as follows:
Basic Skill | Core Skill | Core Skill 2 | Defensive Skill | Wrath Skill | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Storm Strike | Lightning Storm | Tornado | Earthen Bulwark | Hurricane | Petrify/Cataclysm |
Players often forgo a companion skill for multiple spells in this build, but the joy of non-meta builds is experimentation, so some players might want a companion alongside their spells. Spirit generation can be a challenge for this build, so players will want items that help generate more spirit to keep the spells coming.
6 Thorns Barbarian
The Thorns Barbarian build is the epitome of high-risk, high-reward play. This build takes a while to craft, so players might want to use a more well-rounded build until they have all the necessary pieces. The build centers around thorns, which means taking damage from foes. This means that players will want a high health threshold, while also building for thorns. Players should prioritize rubies and emeralds in their armor slots, and unlock the Needleflare Aspect and Death Wish Aspect for their legendary gear. The following skills work best for this build:
Basic Skill | Core Skill | Defensive Skill | Brawling Skill | Weapon Mastery Skill | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Flay | Whirlwind | Rallying Cry | Charge | Steel Grasp | Wrath of the Berserker |
Players should also invest in the key passives Outburst and Tough as Nails. With all of these in place, players have a niche but very fun build to play around with. They’ll take a lot of damage, but if all goes well, they’ll make enemies pay for it.
5 Pure Lightning Sorcerer
When it comes to leveling builds, few are better than the Chain Lightning Sorcerer. A pure lightning sorcerer is great for leveling quickly, but it struggles against bosses or tanky foes. Nevertheless, it is still a ton of fun to play, even at later world tiers and levels.
Players looking to build a pure lightning sorcerer have a few options, but common skill builds look like this:
Basic Skill | Core Skill | Defensive Skill | Conjuration Skill | Mastery Skill | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Spark | Chain Lightning | Teleport | Lightning Spear | Ball Lightning | Unstable Currents |
Players are looking to make their entire skill bar purple with this build. They can mix and match skills , maybe building more for crackling energy or forgoing their Conjuration Skill for Charged Bolts alongside Chain Lightning. The build has shocking customization and can be a ton of fun to play. Players should try and stick to weapons with faster attack speeds to maximize the number of shocks and DOTs delivered in combat.
4 Marksman Rogue
Rogues in Diablo 4 have three weapons. They have two melee weapons (swords, daggers, or a combination of both) and a bow. While the Rogue meta is currently completely dominated by the Twisting Blades skill, there are plenty of fun Rogue builds that don’t involve Twisting Blades at all. This build forgoes melee weapons entirely, making it a fun albeit challenging build to master. As with many of these off-meta builds, it might be best to specialize in this build after level 50. The best skills for a Marksman Rogue are:
Basic Skill | Core Skill | Core Skill 2 | Imbue Skill | Subterfuge Skill | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Forceful Arrow | Barrage | Penetrating Shot | Shadow Imbument | Concealment | Rain of Arrows |
Players should also pick up the key passive skill “Victimize.”
The biggest challenge with this build is mobility. Rogues aren’t tanky, and without Dash, things can get hairy for a Marksman Rogue. Players may want items that lower cooldowns to help them have Concealment up as much as possible. This build is for true daredevils. It can deal tons of damage and wipe out mobs quickly, but at the risk of the Rogue’s life, as they lack almost any ability to escape danger.
3 Summoning Necromancer
It may seem odd that the class built around summons has an off-meta build as a summoner, but the Necromancer in Diablo 4 is actually strongest when their minions are sacrificed. The fun of the Necromancer, though, is building an army of little guys. So, in spite of the meta, there are multiple builds for a summon-focused Necromancer.
There are plenty of skills to look for and build, and choosing summon types is up to the player. Some might prefer the defensive options granted by the Defender Skeletons and the Blood Golem. Others might like the crowd control of the Reapers, Cold Mages, and Iron Golem. Here are some good active skills to build the summoner around:
Basic Skill | Core Skill | Corpse & Macabre Skills | Curse Skill | Corpse & Macabre Skills | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bone Splinters/Decompose | Bone Spear/Blight | Blood Mist | Decrepify | Corpse Tendrils | Army of the Dead |
There are lots of passives that Summoner builds should focus on. Any passives that directly buff minions or aid in their healing or essence generation are must-haves. In some cases, the Necromancer’s passives are more important than leveling active skills to higher tiers.
2 Companion Druid
For players that want to summon, but don’t jibe with the vibe of the Necromancer, the Druid can act as a summoner. While Druids won’t have as many active summons as Necromancers, their options are quite good and can act as decent mid-game builds. With the prevalence of Pulverize Druid builds, pretty much every other build will be off-meta, but that doesn’t mean the Companion Druid isn’t fun to play. The active skills of a Companion Druid are:
Basic Skill | Core Skill | Companion Skill | Companion Skill 2 | Companion Skill 3 | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Storm Strike | Landslide/Pulverize | Ravens | Poison Creeper | Wolves | Grizzly Rage |
Players can mix and match skills to their preference. Some builds forgo an ultimate entirely for Earthen Bulwark, while others only use Landslide as opposed to Pulverize. The passive skill “Call of the Wild” should be maxed out. There are other Passives that are all around good for the Druid, including their Key Passives, but Call of the Wild is a must. There are also some great Aspects for this build, including Aspect of the Alpha, Aspect of the Stampede, & Shepard’s Aspect.
1 Rogue Multi-Trap Build
The best Rogue builds in Diablo 4 utilize the Poison Trap skill, and a few even use the Death Trap skill. True trap builds will want every trap skill in the game, alongside the Rogue Specialization unlocked at level 30 called “Preparation.” Preparation is the key to this entire build, so it is a must. With the right skills and Preparation Ability selected, players can place near infinite traps on the field while making their foes Vulnerable with other skills. The skill chart will look something like this:
Basic Skill | Core Skill | Imbue Skill | Agility Skill | Subterfuge Skill | Ultimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Puncture | Barrage/Twisting Blades | Poison Imbument | Caltrops | Poison Trap | Death Trap |
The Key Passive “Exposure” is another must for this build. While tough to master at first, once players find the rhythm of juggling skills, they can achieve near-constant traps and can use their Ultimate ability multiple times in a single minute. This build works best in a party, but it can be used effectively solo as well.
Diablo 4 was released on June 6th for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
